Hi all. I’ve decided to part ways with my Roland SE-02. Lovely beast, but it really needs a keyplayer’s approach to get the most out of the sounds and I’m a programmer and one finger wonder. It’s also not great at warmth.
So I’m buying something new. I’ll be sequencing from my Digitakt. Must be:
Minimum 4 voice polyphonic
Module, not a keyboard
Small footprint i.e less than 50cm wide and 25cm deep
Between £250 and £500
I don’t need knob per function but I would like to be able to creat sounds without too many menus. Ideally bi-timbral but not essential. On board effects would be nice but not essential. Doesn’t need to be real analogue. My priority is pads and lush sounds, groin throbbing bass is not essential either.
Currently considering:
Behringer Pro 800
Roland JX-08
Roland JU-06A
Modal Cobalt8M
Behringer Deepmind12X
Cobalt8m is great. More interesting than Pro-800 and more fun to use due the endless encoders and screen. Sounds great and good FX. Deepmind 12D is another suggestion but I still prefer Cobalt8m (more to explore and proudly digital).
Poly ranking list of what I have/have had
Digitone 2 (as a groovebox poly hybrid)
Cobalt8m (best in general as a poly)
Opsix (best sounding but not that fun to use)
Deepmind 12D (mod matrix and fx rule)
Pro-800 (vintage sound. Annoying to use with presets but panel mode works cool)
Minilogue XD (didn’t like this one at all for some reason)
Also bought Blofeld desktop on friday but still in mail.
Deepmind 12/12D for the analog sound and digital fx and the UI which is really nice, and the mod matrix which allow to tweak the FX.
Pro 800 for the warmth, but the UI is not a pleasure, but it’s really cheap.
Ambika could be a really good choice, I don’t have that one, but really like the sound I see in lots of video, and it’s quite cheap.
Minilogue XD for the warmth, really fat sound, and the user oscillator + user FX. If I broke my prologue I would replace it by that, 4 voice of this kind is enough for me.
theres also nord 2x, romplers like jv1080/2080, korg TR rack, those korg wavestate/other modules … quite a lot in this price range / size , esp if you look 2nd hand.
personally i wouldnt go roland mc101 , too menu divey.
maybe microfreak becuase its quite small.
I’m sure there are many other ‘which module with digitakt / digitone/ etc etc’ … and youtiube is full of videos of each box… plus theres bad gear, who’s looked at many many boxes over the years.
I own the JU-06A (and have owned the original JU-06 and an actual Juno-106), a JX-8P and MKS-70 (that the JX-08 is based on), and an Argon 8m. I’ve played with a MicroMonsta2.
If you don’t need more than one part and are fine with 4 notes, the JU-06A is a great pad machine (as well as leads, basses, effects…any typical analog synth sound), and the sweet spots are huge. It basically sounds good all of the time and is very hands on.
The JX-08, although there are complaints that it doesn’t sound close enough to the original JX synths, it does have much more polyphony (20 notes I think?) and 2 parts. So it beats the JU if you need that.
The Carbon/Cobalt/Argon synths have 8 note polyphony, are a larger footprint, and although they are all more flexible synthesis-wise the interface isn’t as immediate as the Roland Boutiques due to the multi-function knobs.
The MicroMonsta2 is a cool synth, but more menu-divey.
If you can find a NordRack 2 (I own the keyboard Nordlead 2), I think it’s an amazing synth for lush pads, one of my favourites. I’ve owned it for over 20 years and it continues to surprise me with new sounds. It will probably be the last synth I get rid of (if I actually get rid of any synths).
I do want to add that I have a SE-02, and although it’s fiddly, I think it’s the best analog synth sound-wise. Amazing for bass and lead sounds. To each their own, though.
